A double‐blind group comparison of mianserin and clomipramine in the treatment of mildly depressed psychiatric out‐patients

The effects of mianserin 30–60 mg and clomipramine 75–150 mg were compared in a randomized double‐blind study of 62 mildly depressed outpatients. Treatment was continued for three to four weeks, after which approximately 50% of patients left the study clinically much improved. Significant benefits for mianserin were apparent at days 7 and 21 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) total score and at day 7 on the HDRS anxiety‐somatization factor score. No difference in overall antidepressant activity was found in those patients treated for four weeks. There was a significantly greater number of side‐effects in the clomipramine treated group. It is suggested that mianserin is a more rational treatment than clomipramine in this group of patients because of a greater anxiolytic action and a lower incidence of side‐effects.